Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan

Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan
Reagan waves just before he is shot. From left are Jerry Parr, in a white trench coat, who pushed Reagan into the limousine; White House press secretary James Brady, who was seriously wounded by a gunshot to the head; Reagan; aide Michael Deaver; an unidentified policeman; policeman Thomas Delahanty, who was shot in the neck; and Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, who was shot in the chest.
Location	Washington Hilton, Washington, D.C., United States
Coordinates	38°54′58″N 77°02′43″W / 38.9161°N 77.0454°W / 38.9161; -77.0454
Date	March 30, 1981; 43 years ago (1981-03-30) 2:27 p.m. (Eastern Time)
Target	Ronald Reagan
Attack type	Attempted assassination (Reagan), attempted homicide (Tim McCarthy and Delahanty), shooting
Weapons	Röhm RG-14
Deaths	James Brady[a]
Injured	Ronald Reagan Tim McCarthy Thomas Delahanty
Perpetrator	John Hinckley Jr.
Motive	Attempt to gain the attention of Jodie Foster; mental illness
Verdict	Not guilty by reason of insanity
Charges	13 counts[b]
Sentence	Institutionalization

On March 30, 1981, President of the United States Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C., as he was returning to his limousine after a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton. Hinckley believed the attack would impress actress Jodie Foster, with whom he had developed an erotomanic obsession.

Reagan was seriously wounded by a revolver bullet that ricocheted off the side of the presidential limousine and hit him in the left underarm, breaking a rib, puncturing a lung, and causing serious internal bleeding. He was close to death upon arrival at George Washington University Hospital but was stabilized in the emergency room; he then underwent emergency exploratory surgery. He recovered and was released from the hospital on April 11. No formal invocation of sections 3 or 4 of the Constitution's 25th amendment (concerning the vice president assuming the president's powers and duties) took place, though Secretary of State Alexander Haig stated that he was "in control here" at the White House until Vice President George H. W. Bush returned to Washington from Fort Worth, Texas. Haig was fourth in the line of succession after Bush, Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, and president pro tempore of the Senate Strom Thurmond.

White House press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty were also wounded. All three survived, but Brady had brain damage and was permanently disabled. His death in 2014 was considered a homicide because it was ultimately caused by his injury.^[2][5]

Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity on charges of attempting to assassinate the president. He remained confined to St. Elizabeth's Hospital, a D.C. psychiatric facility. In January 2015, federal prosecutors announced that they would not charge Hinckley with Brady's death, despite the medical examiner's classification of his death as a homicide.^[6] Hinckley was released from institutional psychiatric care on September 10, 2016.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).